Queens Teen To Grace Cover of Popular Prom Magazine

By Amy Lotven, Chronicle Reporter
Queens Chronicle / January 20, 2005

Christ the King High School in Middle Village has a true beauty in its midst. Senior Camille Mangual, 17, of Flushing is appearing on the latest regional cover of Prom Guide Magazine.

Released on Tuesday, the Florida-based publication will be distributed to over 1 million teens nationwide, including 160,000 teens in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.

“I’m curious to see how the cover looks,” Mangual said last Wednesday in a telephone interview. She admitted she’s a tad nervous as well. A self-described “social butterfly,” Mangual said her friends, family and basically all 1,500 students at the private Catholic school know about the cover and are also excited about it.

Mangual’s mother, Patty, is especially ecstatic. “I was very proud of my daughter,” she said.

Mrs. Mangual is not only impressed by her daughter’s beauty and poise, but also her drive. “She’s very ambitious,” she said.

While this is Camille’s first appearance on a magazine cover, she’s no stranger to the spotlight. She currently holds the title of Miss Teen Latina New York. Last May she traveled to Las Vegas to compete for the national title, and won second runner-up. She was also featured in Street Mos, a New York-based hip-hop magazine.

As motivated as Camille is, it was actually her guidance counselor, Jim Vitale, who steered her to Prom Guide.

Vitale said he constantly seeks out scholarship opportunities for his students. When he noticed the Prom Guide contest, he thought of Mangual because she had expressed an interest in fashion and modeling.

“(Camille’s) a lovely girl,” he said, adding she’s a solid student and seems well-liked among her peers.

The high-school senior took her counselor’s advice and entered the contest. In November, she appeared along with 5,000 other entrants in Prom Guide’s weekly online newsletter. Thousands of teen voted for their favorite candidate, picking Camille as one of the 11 regional winners.

Vitale was thrilled when Mangual told him she was chosen. “It was like somebody gave me a Christmas present,” he said.

He hopes the experience can be a “stepping stone” for Camille.

Not surprisingly, Camille hopes so as well. Her dream is to become an actress. She’s been taking classes for two years, but is also interested in broadcast communication. She plans to major in communications while at college, and possibly become a television talk show host, if the acting doesn’t pan out.

Camille has applied to four colleges in the New York area, but has yet to hear about acceptance.

Prom Guide spokeswoman, Keshia Richmond, confirmed Camille will receive a $250 reward from either the magazine or one of the advertisers. The big prize for most winners was an all-expense paid trip to New York City and the opportunity to work with professional makeup artists, stylists and photographers. Although Camille lives only a subway ride from Manhattan, she thoroughly enjoyed the shoot, which took place in SoHo.

Prom Guide Magazine is distributed directly to schools nationwide. Not just a fashion or style magazine, Prom Guide has articles about responsible drinking, career planning and other issues important to the prom-age population.

If you're a member of the 2008 graduating class and would like to be a Prom Guide cover model, click here to register now.